Raise the Hammer

Comment 113665

By RobF (registered) | Posted August 25, 2015 at 13:27:46

The "push" or "shove" won't go away for three reasons:

(1) it was wrong and that has never been unequivocally stated by Council or by some apologists in the press ... the official response has been to imply that Joey is somehow at fault, while the press has largely been deferential to Councillor Ferguson in their coverage. The effect is to downplay the seriousness of what happened;

(2) the integrity commissioner and the review process has been revealed to be deeply flawed, and not for the first time, yet it appears that council is content with the present arrangement, because it provides them with political cover when they need it; and

(3) Joey's ability to practice as an independent journalist has, and continues, to be severely disrupted ... he is the one paying the price for the "shove", not the perpetrator.